Manned sub on track for S China Sea

An oceanographic ship carrying the Jiaolong manned deep-sea submersible is expected to arrive at the designated dive area in the South China Sea in one week, according to the ship's onboard headquarters.

Though Xiangyanghong 9 could experience waves up to 3 meters high in the next three days, the sea conditions will not affect the ship's voyage, Sun Hulin, a meteorological technician onboard, told Xinhua.

Jiaolong will conduct tests on its positioning system during the journey, according to the ship's onboard headquarters.

The manned submersible, aboard support ship Xiangyanghong 9, left the country's eastern port city of Jiangyin on Monday for its first voyage of experimental application.

During the 103-day mission, the sub will submerge for scientific research in the South China Sea, the northeast Pacific Ocean and the west Pacific.